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Welcome to PSR's Environmental Health Policy
Institute, where we ask questions -- then we ask the experts to
answer them. Join us as physicians, health professionals,
and environmental health experts share their ideas, inspiration, and
analysis about toxic chemicals and environmental health policy.

Are you coughing at work? Do you
have a headache every day or often at school?
Do others around you mention headaches? Do you hear coughing, but no one
appears to be sick? The answer to coughing and headaches at work or in group
settings may be sitting close by or walking through your work area. It could be
a man or woman wearing personal fragrance, wearing clothing washed in a scented
laundry detergent, who has bathed or swabbed in a scented soap or body lotion,
or who has just used a cleaning chemical, air “freshener,” or hand sanitizer. These
products contain chemicals which are recognized as respiratory and/or
neurological irritants, known to cause coughing and headaches, and to trigger
asthma attacks.

Personal fragrances (perfumes),
scented body lotions, cosmetics, fragranced laundry products, hand sanitizers,
and many cleaning products contain formaldehyde, phthalates, and a multitude of
chemicals classified as volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Formaldehyde is
recognized as a potent respiratory and neurological irritant, capable of
causing asthma in susceptible people who are exposed. Phthalates, found in many
cosmetics, are recognized as respiratory irritants and disrupt the endocrine system,
making the unborn fetus, with its developing reproductive system, particularly
vulnerable to exposure through maternal use. VOCs are derived from petroleum
products. Acetone, benzyl alcohol, methylene chloride, and ethyl acetate are
just a few of the VOCs found in fragrances and perfumed products. VOCs vaporize
at room temperature, are inhaled, and quickly pass through the blood-brain
barrier, causing headaches. VOCs also settle along the respiratory track and in
the lungs, causing coughing and precipitating asthma attacks. These facts
explain why when fragrances permeate the air, susceptible people experience health
effects.

While walking through a shopping
mall, watch and listen to people walking by the stores that sell scented
candles and body products. How many cough? Do they know that they are being exposed
to respiratory irritants? In the grocery store, listen for coughing in the
detergent and cleaning product aisle.

Moving toward
fragrance free workplace and community

A few simple steps can help you begin the process of improving air
quality and health at work or in the community.

1. When you hear coughing
around you or a headache suddenly appears, STOP,
SNIFF, AND LOOK AROUND! Try to locate a fragrance source.

2.Think about how often
you may be exposed to these respiratory or neurological irritants or notice symptoms
of coughing and headaches. Keep a written record.

3.Talk with others to
learn how extensive the problem is and begin an awareness campaign.

4. Do a “cough count.” In some facilities, nurses learned about
doing a cough count in the presence of environmental cleaning products and
other respiratory irritants, such as powdered latex gloves. They wondered who
was coughing more: the staff continuously exposed to these products, or the
patients with severe respiratory illnesses (patients often cough and have
headaches from the scented products and cleaning agents)? They learned that the
staff members were often coughing more than the patients, which initiated the
campaign to remove powdered latex gloves and other respiratory and neurological
irritants from healthcare settings. Latex gloves have gradually disappeared
from most facilities. .

These steps help you to develop awareness
for moving to fragrance free environments.

Some employers have recognized the
adverse health effects posed by personal fragrance and scented cleaning
chemicals. They have developed Fragrance Free Workplace Policies and work to
educate their employees on this issue, post signage to reinforce the policies,
and include this topic in employee orientation programs and company handbooks.

Here’s an example of such signage,
this one used by the Massachusetts Nurses Association: “Men and women are asked
to refrain from wearing scented personal products when working or visiting in
this workplace.”

In truth, enforcement of these
policies is a difficult task, but awareness and education go a long way toward
reducing or eliminating the use of these products and in turn improve the
health of all. At work and in community and educational settings, networking
and coalition building can move the issue of a Fragrance Free Environment
forward and reduce adverse health events in those affected.

There are many useful resources in
a quest to improve air quality where you work, learn, or gather with your
neighbors:

Comments

Anonymous said ..

thanx dear this is important information , but i have a question that every perfume contain this?

February 3, 2015

Amy Cochran said ..

I am so grateful that the public is becoming aware of this. I'm fighting the complacency of people who don't care because it doesn't affect THEM personally, and they like the smell. Little do they know the dangers in the nice smells that mask the formaldehyde and other carcinogens that may one day affect their health or those of their loved ones.

November 20, 2011

Joy Jaber said ..

I think fragrances should be banned in public places, the same way smoking is in most places. Particularly places like airlines and theaters, where you are confined close to other people and can't escape their toxic smells. Air "fresheners" also need to go in public bathrooms to make them more accessible to people with fragrance sensitivities (a growing percentage of the population).

November 14, 2011

Richard Weiskopf said ..

This is very informative. The public needs a lot more education on this, and this is a good start. Thank you

November 7, 2011

Liberty G said ..

Thanks, Evie, for pointing this out. I was actually forced to leave a job some years back because a new co-worker made me so ill with her per-fumes!

November 5, 2011

Claudia Crane RN said ..

Glad to hear the MNA is in the forefront on this. (I grew up in Framingham, now live in Philly). I have very reactive airway, and have succeeded in getting my church to stop using incense. Fragrances are just part of the spectrum of VOC's/aromatic hydrocarbons/particulates we humans inflict on our fellow creatures' lungs every day.